A digital marketing mistake in a New
York Times article last weekend highlights the occasional shortcomings of
selling ads through automated auctions. The report cast energy companies in a poor
light, except for one called Statoil, which has an impressive safety
record. However, in the story’s mobile
version, a display ad for Statoil appeared just a few paragraphs from where the
company is approvingly mentioned. A spokeswoman from the NYT said that the ad
was served via automated ad technology and that its appearance in the article
was a coincidence.
Companies can buy certain ad space on
the Times through automated ad-buying platforms, referred to broadly as
programmatic technology. Once the story is live, the Times opens unsold ad
inventory to ad networks such as Google AdWords, which wound up serving the
Statoil ad. Statoil or its media-buying agency likely used Google AdWords to
bid on ad space in articles with certain keywords.
Except when selling their ad space
directly, publishers have few effective tactics to completely prevent awkward
adjacencies. "There are ways to block categories or advertisers, but you
have to do it within a whole section or site," Mr. Prohaska said.
"There isn't an automated way to say, 'Hey, if there's something positive
there, it shouldn't be there because it won't look right.' So sometimes things
slip past the goalie."
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